2/5 Only two of five worthwhile
  by J. Lizzi (Costa Mesa, CA)
This is a collection of five low-budget short films that are supposed to be hypnotic (that's a DVD company name) and erotic, but overall fall short on both counts. If you have a passion for independent films, there may be something interesting in here to savor in terms of the art of filmmaking. For me, that was a stretch. The first and last "shorts" held my attention pretty well, while the middle three left me bored and wondering if there was any artistic merit in them at all. This could be a big price to pay for not much entertainment.

#1: "Freshening Up" (18 min.) takes place in an exclusive lounge, and involves a guy's jealousy and insecurity about what (who) his date was doing while in the ladies room. Gretchen Mol is the big name in this "short," which gets a passable grade despite suffering from an oddly contrasted picture that distorts the color.

#2: "It's Hard" (11 min.) is an immature high school plot about a girl's tribulations over when to, uh ... "give her boyfriend a hand." [You can figure out that meaning].

#3: "Whacked" (10 min.) is about a couple of strangers engaging in a kinky spanking routine in a sex parlor. Which one is the client?

#4: "The Last Time I Had Sex" (16 min.) features a promiscuous chick who's last one-night stand leads to a bout of furniture disposal.

#5: "Six Months of Darkness, Six Months of Light" (29 mins.) is the longest "short," and the one I actually enjoyed. It stars Kelly Rutherford (Scream 3; Melrose Place) as a wife who agrees to participate in a three-way with her two-timing husband. Some serious bonding occurs between two of the participants. Aside from Ms. Rutherford, the acting was pretty bad, but I loved the way the plot progressed.